Activist Alert 3-20-2014

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March 20, 2014 - 12:00am

• Joe Walacki and Borden Beck will speak and show slides on “High Desert Wildlands” at the meeting of the Many Rivers Group of the Sierra Club from 5:30 to 7 pm Thursday, March 20, at the Eugene Garden Club, 1645 High St. The club is currently working to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands and other endangered desert areas.

• Candidates for East Lane County commissioner have been invited to a community forum at 6:30 pm Thursday, March 20, at the McKenzie River Mountain Resort in Blue River. Faye Stewart is the incumbent and challengers are Joann Ernst, Kevin Matthews, Jose Ortal and Jack Schoolcraft.

• The first Friends of Trees planting event of the season will be at 9 am Saturday, March 22, at the northeast corner of Danebo and Roosevelt in west Eugene. Park at the LDS Church at 555 Danebo. Volunteers will plant and mulch 150 native trees and shrubs on ODOT land. FOT will provide tools and gloves and free refreshments. Contact Erik Burke at 632-3683.

• Oregon Strong Voice, a statewide collaboration between labor unions and community organizations, is holding its annual summit from 10 am to 4:30 pm Saturday, March 22, at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 hall (the old Springfield News building) at 1887 Laura St. in Springfield. Registration begins at 9 am. Speakers include Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, AFL-CIO Executive VP Tefere Gebre and PCUN President Ramon Ramirez. Register online at bit.ly/osvsummit.

• The annual SOLVE beach cleanup will be from 10 am to 1 pm Saturday, March 22, along the Oregon Coast. Last year, 4,000 volunteers removed about 28 tons of debris from beaches. Sign up at solveoregon.org or call (503) 844-9571.

• Lane County is gathering public input on proposed rules for outdoor events on county property. An informal “listening session” is planned for 3 to 7 pm Tuesday, March 25, at the Florence Events Center at 715 Quince St. The next such event will be from 3 to 7 pm Thursday, March 27, at the Lane County Customer Service Center, 3050 N. Delta Hwy. in Eugene. See wkly.ws/1pg for more information and to take an online survey.